Can you really repair a tent?

I got to wondering this the other day. I never had the need to repair a tent but I know they have kits to do this. Does it work? How large of a rip can be fixed?

 

I'm not entirely sure. We had a tent thàt leaked pretty badly even though it was patched. But it was old.
Now we have a pop up. It doesn't leak!!

 

Of course you can.

In general, you want to repair it as soon as it is initially damaged. A small tear can quickly get bad in no time and lead to it not being worthwhile to even attempt.

I think the best method is usually to use a patch that is applied on both the inside and outside. This keeps the tear from getting worse -and- it helps prevent leaks from happening because it creates a waterproof seal.

 

If I have a canvas tent I know how to sew it up well enough. I have a kit for nylon tents that I never use. And that's - yeah that is the extent of my abilities in tent repair... outside of waterproofing.

 

I have seen movies. When they try to repair a tent, it falls back down. It mostly happens when its snowing.

 

I honestly cant but my brother has been to a lot of places for camping so I think he does.

 

I'm a firm believer in repairing rather than replacing. Just a 5 minute google search will tell you more than you'll ever need to know. They're pretty simple, tents. Unlike mechanical repairs, these are easy and quick! Please come back if you are considering replacing something camping related, you might be surprised by a cheap DIY method.

 

There are tent repair kits but like anything else it will make a difference how badly damaged the spot is as to how solid the repair will be. If it's a small clean tear or cut then it should be easy but if it is larger and odd shaped then it makes me wonder how good the repair will be.

Having some sort of emergency tent repair kit (or two) is always a good idea, they are not too big to add to your kit.

 

Most repairs to a tent or a temp fix at best. When you have a tear in the tent you risk leaks even after patching up the damage. If it a very small tear you probaly be ok on that.

 

I lived in a nylon tent pretty much all year last year. I also have a dog. I can personally assure you that yes, you can indeed repair a tent. It's really not even very hard. You just take the patch material and glue it over the hole. Really simple. I've fixed rips up to a few feet long, patched many many holes that were poked through by puppy paws. Reattached nets and pockets, repaired the screen portion of the door many times, zippers, everything really. Only time I wasn't able to repair something was when my friend's dog got a hold of my rain fly while we were all gone for the day. He ripped the whole corner off of it. Was a really nice goretex camouflage one. I had to have my dad general delivery me one of my other plain green ones on my next town run.

Obviously the larger the tear the harder it is to fix. But if you take your time follow the directions on the package and are just a tiny bit crafty most anything can be repaired.